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| NEW - TONI STONE - Talkin' Broadway's Review | |
| Posted by: T.B._Admin. 07:42 pm EDT 06/20/19 | |
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| Marc Miller takes a look at Toni Stone Maybe I'm too stupid for Toni Stone. Lydia R. Diamond's bio-comedy-drama at Roundabout's Laura Pels Theatre is about what ought to be a fascinating subject, the first woman to play pro baseball in the Negro Leagues; is blessed with a reliable director, Pam MacKinnon; gets a crisp production, dominated by Riccardo Hernandez's formidable set, a bleacher grandstand in some Podunk town; and efficiently has its gifted cast of nine switching roles and viewpoints, while building up and tearing down the fourth wall. So why, for so much of Toni Stone's running time, am I sitting there going, and your point is? . . . |
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| Link | TONI STONE Review |
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| re: NEW - TONI STONE - NYT Review | |
| Posted by: gothamplaygoer 10:31 pm EDT 06/20/19 | |
| In reply to: NEW - TONI STONE - Talkin' Broadway's Review - T.B._Admin. 07:42 pm EDT 06/20/19 | |
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| For what it's worth, Jesse Green makes it a Critic's Pick. | |
| Link | Jesse Green on Toni Stone |
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| I completely agree re: NEW - TONI STONE - NYT Review | |
| Posted by: BroadwayMarley 12:13 pm EDT 06/21/19 | |
| In reply to: re: NEW - TONI STONE - NYT Review - gothamplaygoer 10:31 pm EDT 06/20/19 | |
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| I completely agree with Jesse. I found the play to be imaginative, informative, touching, amusing at times. Loved the cast and the choreography | |
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| I guess I agree | |
| Posted by: Ann 08:39 pm EDT 06/20/19 | |
| In reply to: NEW - TONI STONE - Talkin' Broadway's Review - T.B._Admin. 07:42 pm EDT 06/20/19 | |
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| But I think it worked for me a bit more. I did really enjoy the staging, and the cast is excellent. I don't feel like we got her whole story (there is more information outside the theater about Stone, and the play made me read up for more) - it's all somewhat stylized. Well worth a visit, in my opinion (baseball play, no shower scenes). | |
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| re: I guess I agree | |
| Posted by: dlevy 10:50 pm EDT 06/20/19 | |
| In reply to: I guess I agree - Ann 08:39 pm EDT 06/20/19 | |
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| I also liked it a bit more and I also agree the it never quite comes together. (It doesn't so much end as it stops.) One thing I found curious is that the characterization of Stone in this play is that of an autistic person -- from her inability to process metaphor to her self-soothing by muttering statistics and on and on... And yet I couldn't find any references in any articles to Stone being autistic. Is this an invention of the playwright? Is this something that's illuminated in the book (Curveball) that forms the source of the play? |
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| Maybe there's more in the published biography | |
| Last Edit: T.B._Admin. 11:05 am EDT 06/24/19 | |
| Posted by: Ann 11:04 am EDT 06/24/19 | |
| In reply to: re: I guess I agree - dlevy 10:50 pm EDT 06/20/19 | |
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| Curveball: The Remarkable Story of Toni Stone the First Woman to Play Professional Baseball in the Negro League by Martha Achmann. I haven't read it. Published in 2010. |
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| Link | Curveball at Amazon |
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| re: I guess I agree | |
| Posted by: Ann 07:52 am EDT 06/21/19 | |
| In reply to: re: I guess I agree - dlevy 10:50 pm EDT 06/20/19 | |
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| I did not pick up on the autism aspect at all. | |
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| re: I guess I agree | |
| Posted by: NeoAdamite 12:44 pm EDT 06/21/19 | |
| In reply to: re: I guess I agree - Ann 07:52 am EDT 06/21/19 | |
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| I did not pick up on the autism aspect at all. The author keeps showing Toni to have two well-known traits: the inability to understand metaphor, and comforting oneself with lists. They didn't feel wrong, but on the other hand the rest of the character (and her portrayal) didn't feel particularly "autistic." |
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| On the Spectrum | |
| Posted by: teka21 12:13 pm EDT 06/22/19 | |
| In reply to: re: I guess I agree - NeoAdamite 12:44 pm EDT 06/21/19 | |
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| As a veteran teacher of students on the autism spectrum, Matthis' brilliant portrayal of Toni immediately struck me as a person with those characteristics. Additionally you can add Toni's difficulty reading body language, social discomfort, perseverative focus on the "numbers" in baseball stats, and her emotional connection to a baseball so much stronger than her emotional intimacy with people. This production gets a BRAVO from me. | |
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| I agree with the Talkin Broadway review. | |
| Posted by: summertheater 11:39 pm EDT 06/20/19 | |
| In reply to: re: I guess I agree - dlevy 10:50 pm EDT 06/20/19 | |
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| Loved how he said it "ought to be a fascinating subject" (but clearly wasn't). "So muted" and "clearly bobbling the ball". And totally agree with "So why, for so much of [the] running time, am I sitting there going, and your point is??" Reminded me of a boring college professor who just likes to talk and talk and talk, and put the whole class to sleep. Just wants to listen to his voice for 2 hours 20 minutes. Inert, no action, complete bore and total waste of time. Mass exodus at intermission, and I should have left too. Clearly audiences are not liking it. I was just waiting for something, ANYTHING, to happen, in the show. But it doesn't. Just more talk, talk, talk. The word "stylistic" that was used in this thread is a good word to use too. It's all substance/style, with nothing to evoke any passion or meaning. | |
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| re: I agree with the Talkin Broadway review. | |
| Last Edit: Ann 07:58 am EDT 06/21/19 | |
| Posted by: Ann 07:57 am EDT 06/21/19 | |
| In reply to: I agree with the Talkin Broadway review. - summertheater 11:39 pm EDT 06/20/19 | |
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